Adam Mermelstein‘s Newark, N.J.-based Treetop Development has picked up a Washington Heights portfolio of low-rise walk-up apartment buildings for $10 million from Onex Real Estate Partners, Commercial Observer has learned.

The $5.5 million sale of 432-434 West 163rd Street between Amsterdam and Edgecombe Avenues closed two days ago, according to property records made public yesterday. The contiguous two five-story buildings at 612-618 West 182nd Street, between Wadsworth and St. Nicholas Avenues, also sold for $4.5 million, Ariel Property Advisors said.
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City landlords are questioning the efficacy and enforceability of a proposed City Council bill that would land building owners in housing court for failing to make necessary repairs on properties.

If the bill passes, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development would target landlords who make cosmetic repairs in lieu of underlying structural problems, hoping to turn properties over for a profit without addressing major issues.

Many landlords reacted favorably to the bill, though most believed the bill could be difficult to enforce.
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Scanning the papers and business web-sites, you’d assume the economy—and, perhaps, the real estate industry in general—was approaching a quagmire, what with employment rates still lower than expected and leasing sluggish.

Nonetheless, with Thanksgiving approaching we asked some of the commercial real estate industry’s biggest names what they were thankful for this year,and their answers were far more positive than expected.

After the jump, a brief sampling of the responses, as told to Commercial Observer staff reporters Al Barbarino and Billy Gray.Read More

Newark, N.J.-based Treetop Development has closed on two West Harlem walk-up properties for $8.8 million.

The 5-story buildings at 220-226 West 116th Street and 449 West 125th Street, which make up a total of 52 two- and three-bedroom apartments and seven retail stores, are part of a continued push by the company to acquire properties in under-served Manhattan neighborhoods.

In the area north of 96th Street and up to 135th Street on the west side, rents are still relatively affordable, new projects and retail hubs are sprouting, and there’s access to transportation and universities, said Adam Mermelstein, Treetop’s managing founder along with Azi Mandel.
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